Important collector's watches, wristw...

Hotel Richemond, Geneva, Apr 13, 2002

LOT 453

Venus and Adonis Phillipus Van Ceule, Hagae, circa 1720, enamel signed P. Huaud fecit, circa 1670. Very fine and important painted on enamel 21K gold pendant watch.

CHF 20,000 - 30,000

EUR 13,500 - 21,000 / USD 12,000 - 18,000

Sold: CHF 36,800

C. Two-body, ?bassine? with inward edges, back finely painted on enamel depicting Venus and Amor trying to stop Adonis from going hunting for wild boars, two dogs behind, band with four vignettes painted with rural scenes, castle ruins, Alpine scene, inside ruins of a castle in the countryside, two travelers in the foreground. D. White enamel, narrow ring with radial Roman numerals and half-hour indexes, outer applied gold ring with champlevé Dutch-type minute ring with five-minute Arabic markers, center with finely painted scene depicting Venus and Amor. Blued steel ?beetle and poker? hands. M. 33 mm., gilt brass full plate with square baluster pillars, fusee and chain, verge escapement, plain brass three-arm balance, flat balance spring, Dutch-type cock. Signed on the movement, case signed by the painter. Diam. 40 mm.


LOADING IMAGES
Click to full view
Image

Grading System
Grade: AAA

Excellent

Case: 3-12-48-51

Good

Worn

Later crown

Movement: 3*

Good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense

Dial: 3-01

Good

HANDS Original

Notes

The enamel scene was almost certainly painted by Pierre I Huaud; only a very few pieces signed by him are known to exist. However, the iconography and proportions of the dial, particularly the narrowness of the white enamel chapter ring, leaving a large space for the central scene, as well as the shorter, more marked Roman numerals, are characteristic of an earlier style, typical of work by Blois and Paris artists. It was a common practice in the eighteenth century to replace the movement in a particularly expensive or beautiful watch. Examples can be found in numerous museums and private collections. Jean-Claude Sabrier, in studying the records of Berthoud, found that once the horologer was given an old enameled watch with the specific request that he make a new movement for it (see The Sandberg Watch Collection, Antiquorum, Geneva, March 31 and April 1, 2001, lot 264).This proves the importance attached to early enameled cases by their owners who, as in this instance, commissioned the best workers to make a special movement so they could continue to enjoy the watch many years after it was made. We have seen magnificent Blois cases with later movements by Webster, Leroux, Pyke, Fromanteel and Berthoud. The artistry and rarity of these cases unquestionably warranted the expense of commissioning a special movement for them. The research of Jean-Claude Sabrier is of the utmost importance in putting to rest all speculations as to why later movements are so often found in these magnificent cases. Several major watchmakers, including Fromanteel, Ellicott, Berthoud, Cabrier, Jacobus Garnault, Vaucher à Paris, and John Pyke, among many others, specially made movements to fit exceptional older cases. The Van Ceulen family was known for updating seventeenth century enamel cases in this manner, particularly appreciated by the Dutch market, as lot 43 illustrates. For a biography of P. Huaud, see lot 598.